Foreign language textbooks and the multimodal representation of linguistic coloniality

This chapter examines the subtle reproduction of coloniality within Indonesian foreign language textbooks through a corpus-assisted multimodal discourse analysis. Recognizing that textbooks are not neutral conveyors of knowledge but discursive sites where social hierarchies are encoded, the study interrogates how linguistic and visual elements jointly construct representations of Self and Other. Drawing on a corpus of state-published English textbooks and critical frameworks from discourse and multimodal analysis, the chapter reveals that pronoun patterns, naming conventions, verb choices, and visual representations collectively sustain colonial hierarchies. The analysis finds that pronouns such as we and you are used to normalize collectivist obedience while marginalizing alternative subjectivities. Western naming patterns dominate, signaling representational asymmetry. Active verb constructions align with neoliberal ideals of individual discipline, whereas passive structures erase colonial agency in historical narratives. Visual cues, including gaze, posture, spatial framing, and attire, reinforce institutional authority, gender norms, and deference to teachers or Global North figures. The study argues that these pedagogical texts construct compliant learner identities embedded in postcolonial ideologies. By exposing how coloniality is maintained through everyday classroom materials, the chapter contributes to decolonial scholarship and calls for more critical, inclusive language education practices in the Global South.